Tag Archives: United States

This article discusses the increase in lawsuits, and threats of lawsuits, over experts authenticating pieces of art. This has led to experts and foundations ceasing to authenticate works. According to the Economist:

“All this is bound to hurt sales. Already the top of the art market is suffering, says Véronique Wiesinger, the chief curator at France’s ministry of culture. As scholars grow reluctant to give opinions, forgers find it easier to circulate their wares.”

Some experts have stopped publishing catalogue raisonne, or a comprehensive list of genuine works. This hurts the industry because, “[s]ales typically increase, sometimes dramatically, upon publication of a catalogue raisonné because buyers like knowing which pieces the artist’s estate or other authorities have declared genuine. If a good new catalogue raisonné of Modigliani drawings were published, sales worldwide would rise by about a fifth, reckons Christophe Van de Weghe, a New York art dealer.”

Should lawyers consider the larger impact of these types of suits? Could waivers be a solution?

Don’t forget to register to vote, and to remind your friends! Here is a cite with info for each state. This is Indiana’s website. If you’ve already registered, make sure you know where you will be voting, or if you are voting absentee check the date by when you need to request a ballot.

One social justice issue that doesn’t get as much attention as others is senior poverty. However, statistics show that it is on the rise: “6 percent of people age 75 to 84 fell into poverty for the first time in 2009, compared to 3.3 percent in 2005,” and the proportion of seniors facing the threat of hunger went up to one in seven in 2010 from one in nine in 2005. Reasons cited by the article for this increase are the increase in medical costs, loss of savings because of low-interest rates, and eligible seniors not applying for help. Demographics are also a factor, with higher rates of senior poverty for Latinos and African-Americans as well as for single women.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/senior-poverty-hunger_n_1834583.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Does senior poverty deserve more attention? Will this affect how you vote in the fall? Because the issue involves many other concerns, such as the economy, stigmatization of receiving benefits, and race, how can senior poverty be best addressed?